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Back Stories – Barrett Blade

Barrett Blade looks like a rockstar and fucks like a pornstar (that’s his job). With a measure of swagger that would give any Hollywood bad boy a run for his money, he’s hott, sexy, and maaaybe even a little sleazy. Maybe.

I say “maybe” because Barrett is really a lover, a romantic, and a creative artist with a fantastic sense of humor. He’s also responsible and a hard worker, but he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s thoughtful, a loyal partner, and a good friend. He’s also got this really amazing…

Wait, wait!! Where are you going?? Come back here!! (jeeez!!)

Now don’t take my lusty description or schoolgirl gush the wrong way – there is more to Barrett Blade than his rockstar/pornstar exterior implies, but he’s not the “sensitive ponytail”-type either. Barrett possesses a blend of charismatic sexy bravado and nice guy sincerity that’s as unique as it is alluring.

Oh, you don’t believe me…

Well, I got the opportunity to catch up with Barrett earlier this month at AEE. In between working, goofing around, and supporting his lovely lady Briana Blair, he took some time out to tell me about his career, his mis/adventures in the business, and his truly fascinating life. Read on!!

In spite of what some haters may want to believe (jealous!!), Barrett Blade is not some rockstar poseur – he actually is an accomplished musician. In the early 2000s, his band Dial 7 was signed to Warner Brothers Records. They were on their way, touring the country and livin’ the dream… but the music industry was in the midst of significant changes, and one day Dial 7 was unceremoniously cut from the WB roster.

Soon after, Dial 7 was playing a sold out show at the legendary Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood. Barrett ended up meeting some adult film talent ladies at that show, including then-Vivid girl “Janessa” (not her real name). A hot and heavy romance ensued, and eventually Janessa asked him to take their relationship to the next level – on camera.

They performed together for a while, but when Janessa decided the relationship was no longer for her, Barrett’s friends and peers encouraged him to continue to working as a performer. So he did.

(pictured: Barrett… rockin’)

His first purely professional scene was with jessica drake who, as he put it, popped his porno cherry. But sadly, Barrett wasn’t quite prepared for the force that is Ms. jessica, who refused to work with him for two whole years after their first scene together. It was a good scene, but let’s just say that Barrett lasted a little too long for everyone’s liking!!

Listen to him tell it:

In the end though, it all worked out – Barrett has been working steadily as a performer since 2001. He has been nominated for multiple AVN awards including Best Male Newcomer and Best Actor (twice!) and has won awards for Best Supporting Actor in 2008 and Best Threeway Sex Scene in 2005. He has also since done A LOT of scenes with jessica drake (those two have amazing sexual chemistry… case in point: their outdoor, on/near-the-bike scene in Wicked Pictures’ Speed). But banging lots of hott chics is not what Barrett feels is the best thing about working as an adult performer. In his words:

“It’s a bonus to have sex and it’s nice to get paid for it, but first and foremost for me is the acting and getting to do good movies and projects. I get to play pretend movie star, and that’s fun – it’s fun to play different characters, and it’s nice sometimes to step outside of being me… but I definitely take it with a grain of salt.”

Prior to working in adult, Barrett had some acting experience. This nascent performance prowess was developed further during his time on stage. Couple that with the following elaboration on his sex performance style, and you can understand why he enjoys working on more involved projects (as opposed to relatively bang-out scene work):

“I’m not one of these performers who can pound a girl out for two hours straight. I mean, despite my look, I’m more of a lover than a… pounder. And I get that all the time from girls that’ve never worked with me – ‘be easy with me,’ and I have to say ‘baby, all I am is easy.’ Plus I’m getting old… and lazy!!”

Have a listen to some of Barrett’s thoughts on performing:

Maybe Barrett is getting older, but I don’t think he’s getting lazy. In fact, lately he’s been taking his career in a new direction. In addition to working as a performer, he has been working as a director for several years. And although most of his directorial work has been on smaller projects, he really seemed to come into his own in 2010 – his films for Wicked Pictures, The Vow and Trash Talk, were both nominated for AVN awards (respectively, Best Comedy and Best Original Song… for a tune from Dial 7!!).

But rather than getting all fluffed up over his nominations, Barrett seems humbled by the recognition. “After so many years, it was nice to finally get that chance [to direct for Wicked], which I’m so grateful for – I just want to keep [the opportunity]!” he said. “But nothing is secure, so I keep working hard and trying to come up with good projects. I just want to make good product… and besides, my name’s on those things too – I don’t want ’em to suck!”

Hmmm… creative, artistic, and hard-working clearly, but what about romantic? Well, to get a glimpse of his lover side, all I had to do was ask Barrett about his lady Briana Blair.

Like all great romances, Briana and Barrett got together by accident.

Barrett had seen Briana around and finally met her through a mutual friend. He immediately took a liking to her, but some possible love triangulation kept him at bay. Then, a little over a year ago, Barrett spent some time hanging out with Briana Banks (obviously, a different Briana) and was subsequently interested in booking her for a project he was working on. But when he asked a pal for her contact info, his friend mistakenly gave him Briana Blair’s number – whoopsie!!

(pictured: Barrett and the adorable Briana Blair)

After an hour-long phone conversation about job specifics, he finally figured out that he was talking to the wrong Briana… except that she actually turned out to be the right Briana because they’ve been together ever since!

Briana is relatively new to the adult industry, and I wondered what sort of impact a young woman’s efforts to cultivate a career as a performer would have on a developing relationship (especially when the other person in the relationship has a fairly established career). Barrett offered some interesting perspective on what it’s like for him.

“I don’t like to bullshit,” he said. “We have our days like everyone else. Most of the time it doesn’t bother me that she works [as a performer], but there are days that for whatever reason I just get bitchy about it… and I’m sure she has those days too. But we stick to the boundaries that we set early on in our relationship… and as long as we respect those boundaries, it’s gonna be fine. But I do have my days – my ‘man-opause’ days haha.”

Listen to Barrett tell the whole story here:

Too. Cute. (seriously)

When I asked Barrett where he saw himself in the future, he said: “I want to stay in this business, and besides – I don’t really have any other qualifications, and I’m kinda happy being here haha… But honestly: I hope to still be directing for Wicked, I hope to still be putting out good movies, and I have a couple of other projects in the works that I hope come out well*… and, you know, I’m just gonna keep on truckin.’”

I know you will, Barrett. I know you will.

Barrett Blade is a wonderful, interesting guy. I’ve known him for years, and every time I’m around him he surprises me with some new detail. He’s got one eye on the present, making the most of every moment; and another on the future, looking out for opportunities that will benefit him and those around him – we should all be so awesome.

If you too have a deeply moving, platonic crush on Barrett Blade, you can email him and/or follow him on twitter …lord knows I do ;)

(pictured: at AEE, super excited to see my pal)

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From performers to post-production, office workers to executives, PVVOnline Back Stories explore the lives of people who work in all aspects of the adult industry. For more industry insiders’ Back Stories, go here.

*one of Barrett’s developing projects is a series of stylized (and somewhat creepy!!) photographs that explore women’s “addiction” to material goods such as blingy lux and diamonds. “If Diamonds were Drugs” features Briana Blair and some pretty serious contact lenses… Here’s a sample: